This morning we again rose very early and piled into the small boat for another bird watching expedition. We also had the pleasure of seeing both gray and pink river dolphins for the first time. They would come up and do a small dive, but never got too close to the boat. We saw a great variety of birds and were able to add many new kinds to our list including some Green Ibis and Toucans. We also got a chance to see some of the amazing fish of the Amazon that two young brothers had caught in their net. They had a big catch with many different kinds. We had the rare opportunity to see a Walking Catfish, which is uncommon to see and very valuable in the United States for use in aquariums. It was a very big fish that had a hard body and looked almost prehistoric. We also saw a catfish that had gotten caught early the night before and had been eaten alive by Piranha. The other fish we saw included the Shovel-Nosed Catfish, Bushy-Nosed Catfish, Pacu and Red-Bellied Piranhas Soon after seeing the fish we were caught by a cloudburst and headed back to the ship.

Later that morning we headed down El Rio Atacuari, a tributary, where Peru was on the port side and Columbia on the starboard . We docked on the Peruvian side and headed back into the flooded forest to go Piranha fishing. The poles were made from long, thin, very strong branches with a piece of fishing line and a hook on the end. A piece of raw beef served as bait. We tried several spots but only caught a few Piranha and Catfish, which were too small, so we ended up using them as bait. After returning to the boat we took a swim in the Rio Atacuari. Despite the brown color, the water was great. The current wasn’t too strong and it was just the right temperature. The second deck of the boat made a fine diving platform. We were hoping that some dolphins would come to play with us during our swim but no luck.
Our next excursion was to the town of Caballococha. This town had a population of about 5000. We saw a girl’s volleyball game, talked with a little boy who was trying to learn English, bought bread at the Panaderia, explored the town and invited our boat crew to a bar for some cerveza. (Peruvian beer) After visiting the town we went in the small boat out onto the lake, which was one of the largest lakes in the area. While we waited for the sun to go down Segundo told us the story of the lake and the town.
It was believed that many years ago the village was right in the middle of where the lake now is and had only six families. These families did not believe in God. One day a very short man with long hair came from the jungle and told the people to please believe in God and not drink so much or else some day their whole village was going to sink, then he went back in to the jungle. When he came the next time to see how the people were there was nobody there, only two horses swimming in a lake, thus the name “Caballo Coche” meaning “Horse Lake”.
Segundo also told us why people in the Amazon are superstitious about the dolphins. The people believe that thousands of years ago before humans came to the Amazon the dolphins lived on land like humans and when people came, the dolphins turned and went into the water to live. It is believed that sometimes the Shamans can see the dolphin spirits. The story goes that sometimes when people have fiestas by the river the dolphins will come and dress up like a man. They wear a jacket and clothes of fish scales, a stingray hat, and Walking Catfish shoes. To the people, however it is like magic because they don’t see the scales and the fish, they just see a normal person. The dolphins will start dancing with the people and eventually end up inviting a girl to walk around the village with them. Since all of the villages are on the water’s edge, when the dolphins get close to the water they jump in bringing the girls with them. Sometimes the girls disappear for three or four days and when they come back they don’t know where they were, and when she gets pregnant they say the dolphin did it. This is why the people stay away from the dolphins; they don’t play with them and believe it is bad luck to kill them.

After hearing these tales we went on our caiman hunting expedition. To find the reptiles Segundo would shine his flashlight along the reeds on the edge of the water. When the light catches the eyes of the caiman they glow a bright red like little pieces of fire. We saw many caiman and Segundo even caught a few for us. He would just lean over the side of the boat and grab the animal by the back of the neck. We each had a chance to touch and hold the caiman, then we put them back in the water. The ones we saw were small babies only about a foot long and a few months old. They had vicious teeth and we had to be careful to hold them by the back of the neck. We also had a magnificent show of fireflies. All along the edges of the water the little lights would flash in the dark night and created a beautiful display.

When we returned to the boat we heard the crew and the villagers along the shore cheering. Tonight there had been an important soccer game, Peru versus Japan in Uruguay. Peruvians are huge soccer fans and people crowded around TVs to watch. There was a lot of celebration and cheering when Peru won by one goal. After dinner we asked Lider to make us drinks with fresh papaya juice, limes and rum and sat on the deck enjoying the moon and the stars. .

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